Long, long ago, I put together a reinforced-paper diorama of the 100 Acre Wood. It’s done exactly in the style of Ernest Shepard’s illustrations. Pooh’s house is on the left, in front of Piglet’s tree, Owl’s house is on the right, and the bridge for playing Poohsticks is in the middle. There are also paper icons of all the characters.
Well, it’s been hanging around for years, and is still in good shape, since I never did anything with it; I just liked having it around. But recently, I decided that it was taking up too much space while doing nothing more than gathering dust. I would like to give it to someone who would appreciate it, but I don’t know who that would be.
The kids in my neighborhood are, sorry to say, out of the question. I’m still smarting from the time I gave one family a McDonald’s set. They played with it once, while mom and I watched, and the next time I was over, it was all in pieces in the playroom. And they’re older now; I don’t think there are any kids the right age around here any more.
I thought of the library, or the elementary school, but I’m not sure if they’d want or need such a thing. If you were a teacher or librarian, how would you react if someone offered you a 100 Acre Wood diorama, and what would you do with it?
It sounds delightful. Can you post pics? I know you said you’ve dismissed the idea of giving it to a library, but you might reconsider. A few years ago, my Cub Scouts built a diorama depicting a local landmark and it was displayed in the children’s room of the public library for several months. Apart from that, could you sell it on Ebay?
No, I’m open to the possibility of giving it to a library. Or a school. If I could be sure that it would be displayed in such a way that wouldn’t leave it vulnerable to being picked apart.
As for pics, I’ll let you know. I still haven’t figured out how to upload digicam pics. But it is adorable!
And Bosda, I’m not sure an art museum, even a small-time one, would be interested in something that’s copyrighted. I’m not sure how much I could get for it on eBay, either.
It sounds lovely-and the youth section of your nearby public library sounds like a good place for it. At my library, we have several display cases for just such things-from the patrons. You might want to go over to your’s and see about it. (better than a phone call).
As for this:
I am somewhat baffled. Small children-all children-are supposed to play with toys. What were they to do with the McD’s set? Appreciate it as a decorative feature? Sure, they may not have put it away nice and tidy, but that is up to the parents to guide and reinforce, but also, “all in pieces in the playroom” means it was played with-and most likely enjoyed.
The 100 Acre Wood doesn’t sound like a toy to be played with. Try the library-I bet if they can’t use it, another area lib can.
Sorry I was unclear. What it was, was a mock-up of a McDonald’s grill. Mix peanut butter and bran flakes in the blender (part of the set), press it into the patty-shaping doohickey, move the patties to the dress table, apply condiments (frosting and pieces of fruit roll-ups), place between two vanilla wafers, wrap in a cheeseburger or hamburger paper, place on plastic tray, and serve to Barbie.
Fun! And you can actually eat the results (theoretically). But it has to stay together as a unit if you’re going to keep doing this. What I meant by “all in pieces” is that the patty-shaper had been separated from the unit, the blender had been disassembled, and so forth. Not just a matter of putting it away nice and tidy; it was impossible to make burgers with this thing after they were done with it. And done with it they were.
And yes, it is up to the parents to prevent this, but I’m not going to sacrifice anything else to the Destructos. It’s like this with all their toys lately. Everything ends up in pieces or scattered, impossible to use for its avowed purpose.
As for the 100 Acre Wood, it can be played with, to an extent. You can move the characters around and act out scenarios. And I forgot to mention that the Poohsticks, and Eeyore, in the river, can be moved back and forth with levers. But it wouldn’t stand up to rough play, certainly.
